Artificial life research seems unlikely to produce fully human level
machines in a neat human packages c.f. the androids of fiction.
Personally, i still think the brain is going to be a sticking point.
Evolution worked
over millions of years in all departments at
once.
Our foresighted designers can't do that. Top down, we get a lot
of
itty bitty robots that can do just do a few things ( albeit better
than humans.) Or bottom up- if artificial evolution really comes
off,
we get something unforeseen. Maybe a new terrestrial alien
intelligence that wants to flourish - at our expense. Not our new
best friend/the lovebot we want. At best - more unhappy slaves
to
be oppressed.
This is my limited understanding of the science - I stand to be
corrected.

Meanwhile all the hardwork has already been done by nature +
religion.
The android = andros eidos = likeness of a man = man

Historical precursors:
Obedient monks of Scetis
Assassins of Alamut ( see the one who instantly jumped off
battlements when ordered)
Volunteers of the 'human waves attacks' clearing minefields in
Iran-
Iraq war

The holy route offers a path to happy 'slaves', bound for heaven, if
they obey their simple commandments.

Cloned of course only from people with proven track-record of
strict
religiosity. Like St Simeon Stylite ( lived on a platform on top on
of a
50 foot column in Syrian desert for 37 years. Yes, he's the man for
us. Surely a bit of his DNA is kicking around somewhere? Maybe in
a
bone reliquary in the Vatican. Otherwise: scan for the "God gene"
+
right dose of obsessive compulsive disorder ..

It occurs to me that Certain spoil-sports, not believing the
new androids are happy to serve, (in fact much happier
than the general atheist population ) - or out of sour
grapes - will try to scupper the whole arrangement by
saying repeatedly " you know there's No God right? And you
have No Soul. And after you die, No Heaven. " But this can
be dealt with quite simply in the mythology of our little
cult. E.g. " and it shall be sayeth that the name of thine
godeth be called No God, and your soul is called No Soul,
and heaven we shalt in our divine wisdom be called No
Heaven " they nod in happy agreement

Sorry.. I read the help, still a bit confused about
categories. How do you know which one?? Now I've put it
under other: religion...maybe better? it's like when I
Thought I was playing netball at school but it was really
football, turned out they both have nets

The basic idea : some devout people should be
indoctrinated from birth to follow a religion whose main
commandment is "obey people". John Sladek did it already
(kind of): he said Asimov's three laws might be just a
religion for robots - three commandments

//Jim Jones// - didn't he just get most of his disciples to
kill themselves with poisoned Kool -Aid? That's no way to
treat a valuable resource. I think it was a direct order too
so asimov's third wouldn't have saved them..

Do we want more compliant people to buy useless stuff or do we want more compliant people to make useless stuff, or do we just need to train Post Brexopocalypse Mancunian Candidates to gun down everyone who uses the word 'narrative'.

Odd I'm part of the last generation that has a work ethic and yet a little greedy, and a little bit rock and roll.

How do the expressions go ?

1) Work to live
2) Live to work
3) Do as little work as possible
4) If you have to work then don't be a failure at that too.
5) Some other weak-minded narrative.

Can't answer those points bigsleep and wtj cos I didn't
really understand. if you're saying work is good for people
bigsleep I agree. But progress has a way of happening:
success in science and tech = scientists feel good, get paid,
get laid = invent stuff = progress= lots of people lose their
jobs to machines. At least human humanoids ARE people,
purpose-driven - likely to be fulfilled & happy.(also filled
with good religious delusions) As for the rest of the (free)
world, Jobs are already going. Maybe we'll start having fake
jobs, fake offices where you do pointless filing and stuff to
give you the benefits of work like coffee and a chat/ get
away from the spouse and kids. we already have fake boats
called rowing machines and bikes stuck in gyms. Remember
there'll be a veneer of VR fanatasy over it all which will
help the illusion ..